Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

I want to try the new Prada men's scent badly, but the wait is getting on my nerves, so I'm facing three options when it comes to this new scent.

Option #1: Buy it blind from the Neiman Marcus website. Yeah, I don't like buying anything from those crooks in Dallas, but they're the only choice to buy the stuff from until September 1st.

Option #2: Wait until September 1st and buy blind from the Sephora or Nordstrom websites. I like Sephora a lot... I'd rather buy from them than Needless Markup. Same goes for Nordstrom.

Option #3: Wait until it's available locally and buy it then. The head fragrance SA at Von Maur said that Prada Amber PH should be available there in mid-September, while the SAs at Macy's aren't sure if they'll be getting it or not (even though they carry the women's).

Vote in the poll now! The poll closes this Monday at 7 PM EST.

Last edited by MFfan310; 27th August 2006 at 11:00 PM.

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Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

It's pricey, and a bottle of Costume National Scent mostly covers the same territory. I really like the stuff, but seriously: Don't rush. Smell it first. It's nothing to get in a hurry over or buy blind.

And it's not "Amber pour Homme." It's just Prada Man. I don't know where this "Amber pour Homme" stuff comes from. That's just what the silver plate says, but the women's reads "AMBER" in big letters, and no one calls it "Prada Amber." Actually, the packaging just says "Prada" in that minimalist oh-so-Prada way.

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

Get a sample of it first. There is no reason to blow so much money if you don't know what it smells like. It is worth waiting. It sounds good but how good does it have to sound to make you buy it without smelling it. I've wasted too much money to buy blind and I'm sure you have too...

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

I was pretty enthused about it too, but then I smelled it at Neiman. Good, but not at all what I expected. So i would say option 3: wait until it's available somewhere you can smell it, especially if you already have a soft smelling amber frag in your collection. I already have Magnetism, and while the Prada doesn't really smell the same (the topnotes are not as creative and funky), they are similiar in attitude, so I wouldn't get it. It would just be redundant, and it didn't last long on my wrist. But it could be for you.

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

I agree with its nothing to run out of your way to get. Its a very light scent, I believe GQ wrote you can spray yourself often with it and it will not offend. Its a very watered down scent instead of eau de toilette they should have named it eau de cologne.

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

It seems that, for people who are used to nothing but Eternity for Men, Kenneth Cole, Hugo, maybe a squirt of sugary Le Mâle once and awhile, and the like, Prada Man is quite elegant and refined. But if you've had a brush with the more exotic and rarefied specimens most of the posters here have used, Prada Man seems rather tame and middle-of-the-road. I think it's a very nice scent, well-made and versatile, a true crowd-pleaser that doesn't go for the lowest common denominator (just like the women's Prada), but it's nothing to go out of one's way for or break the bank to get. From the other guys' responses here, this seems to be the consensus.

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

Originally Posted by mariodefior

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with those who have relegated Prada to mediocre.
...
In essence, Prada is wonderfully rich and not at all a carbon-copy of other fragrances (thank you Serpent!). Once it opens up - like a fine Port - it has its own signature which I appreciate fully.

I hope you're not lumping me in with the group of those calling it mediocre. I'm certainly not. I agree MFfan should, as you write, "Take the Prada challenge." I just don't think he should pay sixty to eighty dollars and do it blind when the result might be disappointment, as it has been for a lot of posters.

I'm not sure if the comment is sarcastic or not, but I think it was. My mention of Scent is not to say Prada Man is identical to the Costume National fragrance, but I made the comparison - a favorable one, I might add - when I first talked about Prada Man. I get an aroma of tea and a similar clear amber-patchouli drydown, but Scent is technically a women's fragrance never meant to share a counter (or market) with Prada Man. Yes, Prada Man has its own very good qualities, but one can get a very similar drydown for nearly half the price right now if one shops around; that's all I meant to say.

You are right; Prada Man is a masterpiece of subtely and minimalist chic. I think the real question for a lot of people right now is not, Is this good? The real question is, Is this worth full retail? For me personally, right now, no. A fragrance has got to do a lot better than just being subtle and minimally chic to get that kind of money out of me, especially with so many other things competing for my money.

If this gets cheaper - which is unlikely, given the slim discounts on the women's Prada and Puig's Comme des Garçons scents - I'd probably be all over this.

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

I would say wait until you can try it out and when you can, try it several times prior to buying. Although I initially was positive about it, I grew bored of it very quickly. It is not bad but you can live without it. There are so many better scents out there...

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

I tried it yesterday at bloomingdales here in atlanta. DONT buy it blind!!!!! It was very run-of-the-mill and ordianary. The first thing that popped in my mind after i smelled it was hairspray. I was very underwhelmed with it.

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

Choosing fragrances is so personal imo. I beleive it is important for you to smell it first and try a sample on your skin before buying in.

On that note, i bought Prada PH last week at my local store. When i first smelled it, i thought it was great but very subtle and nothing spectacular. I sprayed some on my wrist and went shopping for a suit.

After 45 minutes of browsing and trying suits on, i was amazingly pleased with the scent. Also, i got a compliment from this cute sales girl that hadnt smelled the new Prada since it had just come out that day. Needless to say, it was a good ice breaker since we talked about fragrances for a while and i invited her to a club that night.

I wont blame it on Prada, but it sure helped. That night i got a few other compliments. Im chalking it up as a great buy for me

Re: Prada Amber PH: buy now or wait?

Well.....I tried this one a couple of weeks ago, when the temperature was well over a 100 degrees, my air conditioner was broken, and was having a very challenging week, It smelled horrid. However, I was walking by bloomingdales yesterday, and decided to pick up a sample, and review my initial reaction in cooler weather, and good spirits. What a powerhouse!!! Modern classic all the way, not ordinary at all, however, this is a scent for a more mature, refined, sort of guy, very James Bond.
I would get this one right away, and if you don't like it return it to sephora when it's launched in a few days.